Pressing iron



y 2 9 I minnows 2,284,411

PRESSING IRON Filed'Jfily so, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 ATI'ORNEYS mm S A E PatentedMayZG, 1942;

raassmc moi! George T. Fielding, Stamford, Conn.

Application July some, Serial Nassau-1 jsclsims. loses-"l This invention topressing irons, especlally those of the electrically heated means refers more particularly to a pressing iron which is so constructed and arranged as 'to provide means for steaming or wetting the materlalcoihnocident with the pressingof the same by the The invention broadly comprehends a pressing iron having means for directing steam, water.

vapor or water therethrough for'the emission of 10' the same from the bottom face of the iron and i which iron is of such a character that the heat received from the heating element is rapidly con ducted throughout the area of thesole plate for .maintaining the same in a" constantly heated condition and thus preventing chilling thereof while constantly insuring a flowof waterv vapor or heated water. w I More particularly the invention resides in a pressing iron of the character set forth wherein the sole plate is constructed of a material posgassing a relatively high degree oi heat conductivity and which is so constructed asto provide verting'the' same into steamwhile conveying and discharging said steam by the vaporizing press. sure through outlets in the .of the sole'plate. g V

The invention isfurther directed to a steam generating sole plate for pressing .irons which is formed with a water receiving recessopening through the upper surface thereof with horisontally disposed laterally directed bores communieating with said recess and longitudinally e!- tending bores communicating respectively with 'said lateral bores and having'outlet openings therein means for receiving water supplied thereto and for continuously and rapidly conwhere thefeeding of hot water is desired to wet the fabric being pressed by the. lron.-

The invention further embodies an pressure-fed wa er supply carried directly by the iron with manually controlledflvalve means for supplying the water to the receiving chamber to regulate the volume supplied thereto soas to 09- the in which:

is a bottom plan view thereof of the sole plate broken away and shown tion to disclose the underlying structure.

a vertical transverse,

takenapproximately on the-line Hofl'lgi l,

ruergoir being also shown in e 1H. 4 from the iron illustrating the oftheboresandoutlet'openlngs; Referring to the. drawings by characters: of reference, A designates generally. the soleiplate 'of an'electric iron. 1: the shell or C the handle and D the thermostat control for Y regulating the heat of the iron. The top V of the sole plate A has mounted thereon the usual electric resistance heating element E and inthe present instance the soleplateA is preferabh stampedfromrolled cow r'which posessesa leading therefrom through the bottom rm of g the sole plate.

As 'a further feature the or each here to facilitate';.periodic cleansing of the bores to remove any might tend to clog the same.

. Theinvention further resides steam generating sole plate has the bores opening at the outermost ends through the marginaledge of the sole plate with a removable plug engaging the outer end deposits whichof helicalelements of lesser cross sectional dism- Jeter than the bores which are adapted to extend longitudinally thereof to augment the spinning of the water drops against the walls of the bores to insure a rapid vaporization and conversion of the same into steamand which helical elements may be optionally employed or dispensed with high degree of heat conductivity which, assuming silver to be unity, is approximately 98%.

The" sole plate is formed adjacent its forward end and transversely medially thereof with a 'recessor chamber it opening 1 through the upper surface thereof andis- M vided with horizontally disposed-laterally: directed bores ii and "which communicatewith water receiving said recess and respectivelycpenthroughthe in the provision opposite 01 the marshal ed e of the sole Plate with said bores II and i2 inclined sligh y forward.

The sole plate is also formed with horizontally disposed longitudinally x ndin bores II and preferably a r n ed in intersecting which are bore l3 communicating at one end relation, the

with the bore ii medially of its length-and with -the Opposite end. of saidlbore ll opening through improved withthe sbove'enume'rated andother objects in view, the invention is set forth in greater do tail in'the following specification and j m. l-is-a'side view or apressing imn consmictedinaecordanccwiththeinventionfim m.

a plan viewof the'sole plate removed relative-posh the bores-with reference to the heating the marginal edge of the sole plate closely adjacentthe point thereof. The bore It communicates at oneend with the lateral bore l2 interme-v diate its length and extends forwardly therefrom and opens at its opposite end through the marginal edge of thesole plate adjacent the forward point thereof. As shown, the-lateral bores II and II for the major portion of their lengths are directly beneath the heating element E, while the longitudinally extending bores I3 and I4 throughout their lengths are disposed directly under the heating element.

The sole plate It is provided with a plurality of outlet openings II which open through the lower pressing surface and extend upwardly into.

intersecting relation with the longitudinal bores adjacent the side edges thereof in order to estabiish communication with the bores at a point elevated above the lower edges. This functions to retard free gravitational fiow of water drops from the longitudinal bores through the outlet 'II to seal the upper end of the reservoir against leakage and to permit, when removed, the filling of the reservoir with water. The lower end of the body has extending therethrough an outlet pipe 38 which is connected and communicates with a feed tube 31 extending laterally into and longitudinally of the handle 0 where it establishes communication with the valve 23. The reservoir is thereby connected with and supported by the iron.

In order to insure a positive feed of the water under pressure to the valve 23, a coiled contractile spring I! is connected at its opposite ends respectively to the tube section 3| adjacent its lower end and the tube section 32 adjacent its upper end, the spring functioning to clasp the body 1'' vertically or. longitudinally. After the t water supply has been optionally fed under pressure to the valve and iron, the pressure may be increased without refilling by providing a check valve 40 in the cap which opens by exerting an openings and makes for a more thorough vaporization and breaking upof the water drops into smaller particles for emission of vaporized steam.

- As illustrated, the lateral bores II and I! as well as the longitudinal bores 13 and H arepreferably threaded throughout to increase the heating and vaporizing surfacesof .the bores with which th waterdrops engage.

The outer end of each of the bores is clo by a removable plug it which is threadedly engaged within the outer end thereof so that upon removal of the plugs free access may be had to insert a reamer or other cleansing implement for periodically freeing the walls of the bores of deposits which might clog the same and prevent proper functioning of the iron.

In order to further augment the spinning, spiraling or whirling actions of the water particles against the heated walls of the bores to'effact more rapid vaporization thereof and' the conversion of the same into steam, helical or twisted elements II are provided which are ofa lesser cross sectional diameter than that of the bores and as illustrated, said elements are preferably carried by the plugs for removal and insertion together therewith. The elements ll may be optionally used and are particularly desirable where a more rapid and thorough vaporization is required;

Water is supplied to the recess or chamber 10 by means of an internally threaded pipe I ll which is threadedly engaged in the upper end thereof and extends upwardly through the shell or body B of the iron for connection with a coupling 2| located above the shell and communicating with a tubing, 22 connected with a' valve 23 manually controlled by a manipulating element 2!.

Water may be supplied to the valve 23 from any suitable source, but as herein illustrated, a

reservoir designated generally by the reference character'F is shown. 'The reservoir F consists of a fluted cylindrical body ll of a resilient or elastic material, such as rubber or rubberized fabric, which'has sealed and secured to its lower capacity as a pressing iron. It is also apparent that by manipulating the element 24 to fully open the valve 23, the volume of water feed may be increased to its maximum so as to rapidly supply waterto the recess or chamber II and thence through the bores H, l2, l3 and H to the outlet openings l5 thereby supplying raw heated water to the material being pressed where it is desired to wet the same. By cutting down the volume of water supplied to the sole plate, the degreeof wetness is reduced and the vaporization of the water supplied is increased so as to emit from the outlets I I dry steam where it is desirable. If the water is fed in drops to the cham- 'ber I I at its spaced intervals, the drops will be shattered and forced by the shattering along the bores II and I2 and lengthwise of the longitudinal bores It and M which, together with the helical elements 11 and internally threaded walls t ,of the bore, will be caused to spin or whirl to subdivide the water drops into finely divided particles which, due to the force of the shattering, generates steam and steam pressure which is-eventua1ly emitted through, the outlet openings I! from the pressing surface adjacent the forepart of the iron. Due to the fact that the sole plate is constructed of rolled copper having a high degree of conductivity, the chilling efiect of the water is counter-acted by the rapidity with which the heat is conducted from the heating element E and a highly vaporized dry steam is insured when desired which avoids any possibility of spots of water being emitted with the end a rigid foraminated tube 3| arranged internallyithereof and extending upwardly from the lower end. A similar foraminated rigid tube is secured in sealed relation to the upper end of the body and extends downwardly therefrom and is telescopically fitted within the lower tube section. The upper end of the tube 32 is formed with an externally threaded neck 33 for receiving a closure cap 34 provided with anintcl'nai g sket 75 firmed with a water receiving recess Op ning steam, and the iron becoming chilled.

Furthermore, the pressing surface of thesole plate-being of copper provides rapid transmission of heat to the fabric without the reflective action incident to the usual chrome surface plated iron and which latter has been found to be less e'filcient for removing wrinkles when employing steam. a

I What-is claimed is:

1. In a pressing iron, a steam gene rating sole' plate constructed of a material a relatively high degree of heat conductivity and having horizontally disposed laterally directed bores communicating with said recess, and longitudinally extending bores communicating respectively with said lateral bores and having outlets leading therefrom and opening through the bottom face of the sole plate, said bores being threaded throughout and each opening at the outermost end thereof through the marginal edge of the sole plate.

2. In a pressing iron, a steam generating sole plate constructed of a material possessing a relatively high degree of heat conductivity and formed with a water receiving recess opening through the upper surface thereof, said sole plate having horizontally disposed laterally directed bores communicating with said recess, and longitudinally extending bores communicating respectively with said lateral bores and having outlets leading therefrom and opening through the bottom face of the sole plate, said bores being threaded throughout and each opening at the outermost end thereof through the marginal edge of the sole plate, a removable plug threadedly engaging within the outer end of each bore, and

' =a helical element of lesser diameter than said bores and carried by certain of said plugs for extending axially thereof.

3. In an electric pressing iron, an electrical resistance heating element, a sole plate of solid high density copper with which the heating element intimately contacts for direct transmission of the heat therefrom to the sole plate, said sole plate having longitudinally threaded ducts located wholly within the confines thereof and having outlets communicating with the ducts, depending therefrom and opening through the forepart of the lower pressingsurface of the sole plate, said ductsadapted to receive water for conversion of the same into steam and the emission of said steam from said outlets, the said ducts being located directly beneath and in close proximity to the electrical resistance heating element.

GEORGE T. FIELDING. 

